Four former Twitter executives fired by Elon Musk after his acquisition of the company are suing him for $128 million in unpaid severance. Parag Agrawal (former CEO), Ned Segal (ex-CFO), Vijaya Gadde (ex-legal chief), and Sean Edgett (former general counsel) claim they were wrongfully terminated.
Musk, known for his online presence, responded to a sarcastic post about the lawsuit with a "tears of joy" emoji on the platform he now owns, called X (formerly Twitter). He further engaged with comments poking fun at the situation.
The lawsuit alleges Musk aimed to avoid paying severance by firing them before stock options vested. A spokesperson for X declined to comment.
The executives, who led the company during a lengthy and at times hostile takeover process in which they sued the billionaire to follow through with the acquisition after Musk changed his mind, say Musk fired them citing gross negligence and willful misconduct, which they deny, the WSJ reported.
According to the lawsuit filed by the ex-Twitter executives, "Because Musk decided he didn't want to pay Plaintiffs' severance benefits, he simply fired them without reason, then made up fake cause and appointed employees of his various companies to uphold his decision. [Musk] claimed in his termination letters that each Plaintiff had committed 'gross negligence' and 'willful misconduct' without citing a single fact in support of this claim. Musk's employees then spent a year trying to come up with facts to support his pre-ordained conclusion, to no avail."
